Western Victoria Remembers

A little while ago I came across a great video on You Tube that I have been saving for a suitable time to share. This week I found another with a similar theme. As this is ANZAC Day, I thought it was the perfect time to share the videos. Each are about small Western Victorian towns remembering those who served in World War 1. One is the story of the restoration and revitalisation of the old and the other, the unveiling of the new.

Beau Nieuwveld’s video was impressive, not only because of the story it told but it was great to see a teenage boy with an interest in his town’s history. Not only that, his video was the overall winner of the 2009 10MMM Youth Film Festival held in Hamilton.

Beau’s town is Dartmoor in the south-west of Victoria. Faced with the dilemma of many other towns, the trees in the Avenue of Honour were deteriorating. How could the integrity of the Avenue be maintained while ensuring the safety of the residents?

The result is fantastic. Family members of the soldiers with memorial trees were happy and the town now has a great tourist attraction! For more information about the Dartmoor Avenue of Honour, check out the Glenelg & Wannon Settlers website http://www.swvic.org/dartmoor/avenue.htm

On October 31, 2009, the people of Rupanyup in the Wimmera, celebrated the unveiling of a new memorial to remember local men who served with the 4th Light Horse at Bersheeba on October 31, 1917. One of those, Colonel James Lawson is given special recognition on the memorial.

I love this video because of the community spirit it depicts. Rupanyup is a town of under 800 people and I think they were all there on the day. I am assuming, but can’t be sure, that those depicting the Light Horse soldiers were members of the Creswick Light Horse Troop, a fantastic group of people keeping the memory of the Light Horse alive.

To see the horses at the ceremony is moving as one remembers the heroics of not only the soldiers, but also the horses. The bond between man and horse was deep.

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2 thoughts on “Western Victoria Remembers”

Wow, this is incredible. I’m thrilled that my humble effort at getting some recognition for Dartmoor and its sculptures is still being watched in 2012. I thought that the interest in the video had died down ages ago. Thank you very much for watching and posting about it! :)